What it means to me
by RubyandSapphire
Summary: No flaming, A Christmas special about Francine.


It's December 23d around 8:09 or so and I'm supposed to get home to celebrate Chanukah with my family, but tonight I had decided to take the long route instead of rushing to get home. What was the big rush anyway I reasoned to myself. The reason being is the fact that right about now I don't even want to be Jewish. I listen to the speakers littered around as I look at Elwood city's large **Christmas** tree. The red, gold, and silver bulbs are filled with my peeved face. It's still nicely decorated I admit to myself, tinsel to the disgusting amount a giant shimmering gold star that managed to be big enough to block out the moon on a clear night. Speakers buzz in my ear as the current radio station plays its in between songs commercials and such other things.

"Oh… It's **Christmas** timeagain this year,

Be filled with lots of cheer!"

Hearing that word over and over again is starting to make me sick. That's why I've come to hate winter so much. While all my friends are with their families, or being accepted into the other yuletide fun I'm always being just cooped up inside with my family, as if I'm celebrating in secret. Like it's still the holocaust or something. I wish other people would be more considerate to us Jews. In fact, one year a neighbour yelled at us to stop our racket of our family singing so he could have his festive holiday party. My dad told the reason that we were singing was that we were celebrating Chanukah. He replied with "You filthy stupid Jews! You think you can f*** up my party so you can celebrate the s*** you call Chanukah! You dirty cows!" His speech from what I heard was slurred immensely. My ears were covered by my horrified mother, but I heard most of it anyway. And plus Catherine told me about it the very next morning, and my lips were sealed so she wouldn't get in trouble.

Bubby was crying for the rest of the night after that. I think I was too. She may have even spat at his door on her way out of the building. 4 months later that man died in a bad car crash from drunk driving late at night. My family was partially satisfied with his death, there was one thing stopping it though. He had crashed into another car which was the cause of the accident, it had belonged to a Jewish man who was driving home from a lately held out party with his two kids. No one survived the fatal incident.

But there is one more family that's Jewish in the building. I met their daughter after she bumped into me in the hall. Her name was Sasha. Before she moved here, she'd been kicked out of 3 other buildings because of her religion. I never really saw her after that. I don't really know if she'd like my friends at all. I never really got to find out so I guess it doesn't matter anyway, not like I'll ever see her again right.

I thought about it, why have we always been treated like this, like it was still World War II? For some reason who decided it'd be like that, people were worse than Hitler. (In a way) He may have been responsible for the death of millions of Jews, but now it's as if instead of millions there are none at all. Like that he had succeeded or something, but there still are Jews in this world. There are so many other religions out there. It's not like I want to get rid of Christmas, I just want people to know that there are other holidays besides that one. I've actually had lots of fun at our school's Christmas parties over the years just hanging out with my friends and playing games and sometimes even trying new foods. Like the time that the theme was "what is Christmas like around the world" where we did some stuff they'd do in other parts of the world around Christmas, like snow sculpture contests in Japan. (I think that's what it was)

But then the idea got worse as I pondered on it. Why did they get parade after mall while wet got some annoying song about dreidels! After a while it gets repetitive. Sometimes they even forgot about who I was, like when Arthur asked me out to the Santa Clause dance with him that was going to be held at school, and Muffy had even bought me a mostly red but still green drees to wear to it. They were all horrified to find out I wasn't going, I was Jewish remember. They didn't, no one ever thinks about it.

Buster's Baxter day had gone nowhere and eventually he and his mom stopped celebrating it all together. These days they just really

I look at my own cold reflection in the window of some random store, a toy store none the less. It was Christmas themed for the season, furry boiled inside of me starring at all the all set up all like that. It felt like an insult.

But why? I haven't seen any other Jewish people talk about these sorts of things to anyone else, not even street conversations. It's just so annoying me that no one else thinks about these sorts of thing besides me. I wonder if even Catherine has thought about these sorts things before, maybe I should ask her if she has when I get home. If ever do decide to go home that is, I might just roam the streets until I feel that's it's my time to go back home. That could be a while though. Hey look, there's Arthur's house. I creep quietly over to it and peer through the window. They didn't see me thankfully.

My eyes amazed themselves looking upon the family on the inside. There they were, having a cousin party laughing as someone seamed to say something amusing to all, their tree was up too. And yet no children were peeking under, not even an older D.W. she was laughing with them all. It was like the tree or even the decoration display was sitting on the fireplace mantel even existed to them. Inside myself I felt warm, but in a different way. Tears dotted themselves in my eyes as I closed them running off the lawn. I had to get home as quick as I could, I had to go and see my family. I smiled, this time both inside and out.

"Francine Baby, you're so late!" My mom said as I took my hat, coat, and mittens off. "What took you so long?" we stared at each other for seconds as my dad called out.

"Don't worry she's home, we weren't going to start it without you Frankie!" he smiled rubbing his fingers through my hair. I smiled laughing a little. "Say squirt, wanna help me light some?" he winked as my mom gave my dad the look.

"Oliver!" she yelled with her hands on her hips.

I looked up at him, our hands were held, in unison together. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot."


End file.
